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SEC Director Of Enforcement Ceresney On …

By on December 2, 2016 in Anything of Value, Daniel Och, Enforcement Agency Policy, Enforcement Agency Speeches, Financial Services Industry, Foreign Law Enforcement Cooperation, Harris Corporation, Hiring Family Members of Foreign Officials, Individual Enforcement Action, Industry Sweeps, Internal Controls, JPMorgan, Och-Ziff Capital, SEC, Voluntary Disclosure
Ceresney

Yesterday’s post highlighted comments made by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates at a recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act event and this post provides equal time to comments made by SEC Director of Enforcement Andrew Ceresney at the same event.

Similar to the DOJ speech, much of Ceresney’s speech represents the same old, same old something even he acknowledged during his speech.

When reading Ceresney’s comments about the importance of individual FCPA prosecutions keep in mind the following facts. In 2016 there have been 21 SEC corporate FCPA enforcement actions and 15 actions (72%) have not resulted (at least yet) in any related FCPA charges against company employees. This figure is generally consistent with the overall figure since 2008 in which approximately 80% of SEC corporate FCPA enforcement actions have not resulted in any related FCPA charges against company employees.

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In Depth Into The Och-Ziff FCPA Enforcement Action

By on October 2, 2016 in 2016 Enforcement Actions, Anything of Value, Chad, Charitable Contributions, Congo, Cooperation, Dan Gertler, Daniel Och, DOJ Enforcement Action, Due Diligence, Financial Services Industry, Foreign Official, Internal Controls, Joel Frank, Libya, Michael Cohen, Monitor, Niger, Och-Ziff Capital, Och-Ziff Capital Management, Resource Extraction Industry, SEC Enforcement Action, Third Parties, Travel and Entertainment, Vanja Baros
och ziff

Last week, the DOJ and SEC announced (here and here) a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Och-Ziff Capital Management Group (and a related entity) for improper business practices in various African countries. The aggregate settlement amount was $412 million (a $213 million DOJ criminal penalty and a $199 million SEC resolution consisting of disgorgement and prejudgment interest), the 4th largest FCPA settlement amount of all-time.

As highlighted in this previous post, the SEC also found Daniel Och (CEO) and Joel Frank (CFO) culpable for certain of the improper conduct. As indicated in the post, this represents what is believed to be the first time in FCPA history that the SEC also found the current CEO and CFO of the issuer company liable, to some extent, for company FCPA violations. Moreover, the $2.2 million Och agreed to pay, without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, is the largest settlement amount in FCPA history by an individual in an SEC action.

Whether the Och-Ziff enforcement action is the “first time a hedge fund has been held to account for violating the FCPA” (as the DOJ stated in its release) is a debatable point. (See here for the 2007 FCPA enforcement action on the DOJ’s FCPA website against hedge fund Omega Advisors).

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SEC Brings Historic FCPA Enforcement Action Against Daniel Och (CEO And Chairman Of Och-Ziff) and Joel Frank (CFO)

By on September 29, 2016 in 2016 Enforcement Actions, Daniel Och, Executive Enforcement Action, Individual Enforcement Action, Joel Frank
Daniel Och

In connection with the $412 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Och-Ziff (the 4th largest of all-time – stay tuned for additional coverage as original source documents become available), the SEC also found that Daniel Och (CEO and Chairman of Och-Ziff – pictured) was a cause of certain of the company’s FCPA books and records violations and that Joel Frank (CFO) was a cause of certain of the company’s FCPA books and records and internal controls violations.

This represents, what is believed to be, the first time in FCPA history that the SEC also found the current CEO and CFO of the issuer company liable for company FCPA violations.

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Och agreed to pay approximately $2.2 million ($1,900,000 – reflecting his estimated share of gain to Och-Ziff resulting from the transactions with a Democratic Republic of Congo Partner and $273,718 in prejudgment interest). The $2.2 million Och agreed to pay is the largest settlement amount in FCPA history by an individual in an SEC action.

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